Oh wow. Since I posted this I had another spike about a week or two later. I just have a gut feeling, like I did when I was pregnant, that something is wrong. I also think that I will continue to have spikes. I feel a little better knowing that someone is struggling with something similar. I just wish that I knew what was going on. Thanks for sharing!

I had massive spikes about 6 months PP - up to 200/110 from 110/70 being baseline. The first time it happened I was told to call an ambulance for myself because I was so dizzy and apparently incoherent when I called the doc. It then happened monthly and was in sync with my menstrual cycle, so I think it was hormonal but the docs told me that wasn't possible.

I was told at the time that they'd have diagnosed me with PP Pre-E if I'd been less than 6 weeks PP. I was medicated after that and it did reduce the magnitude of the spikes but it didn't stop them and about a year after I started on the meds, I was able to wean off them. I still get the occasional spike but nothing as nasty as the first few.

Chronic hypertensives can have blood pressure spikes and clotting problems when they're exposed to hormones - mostly estrogen but some of us have spikes with progesterone as well.

White-coat hypertension also causes spikes like that, and sometimes the beginning of a mild illness like a head cold can result in an immune response that also causes a pressure spike. When the innate immune system starts to react and triggers a bunch of inflammatory responses, chronics often see those sorts of pressure spikes!

Not everyone notices the pressure change, but because you did I imagine you'll notice any future ones that you might have and be able to make sense of them over time...

Caryn, @carynjrogers, who is not a doctor and who talks about science stuff *way* too much
DS Oscar born by emergent C-section at 34 weeks for fetal indicators, due to severe PE
DD Bridget born by C-section after water broke at 39 weeks after a healthy pregnancy

I am definitely not preganant, so we can rule that out. I am using the Nuvaring, which is a hormonal birth control, but I have been using it for over a year without a problem. What does birth control have to do with high blood pressure? I was perfectly fine yesterday. I even took my blood pressure when I got home from work (which is super stressful) and it was 98/71. I feel fine and my blood pressure has been fine since. It was just about 12-24 hours that it spiked and stayed high. I just thought it was weird. You either have high blood pressure or you don't. I have never heard of anyone spiking like that and didn't know if there was something else that could be wrong with me.

That sounds like a heck of a spike for you - and I'm wondering if there's any chance you're pregnant or on a hormonal form of birth control. Anxiety can do that to some people, too...

Most of us trend back to normal bp but are probably going to be developing chronic hypertension as we age. The most common underlying issue is a genetic tendency to chronic hypertension. Often that is unmasked in later pregnancies as well, when our pressures climb to above 140/90 before 20 weeks gestation.

Caryn, @carynjrogers, who is not a doctor and who talks about science stuff *way* too much
DS Oscar born by emergent C-section at 34 weeks for fetal indicators, due to severe PE
DD Bridget born by C-section after water broke at 39 weeks after a healthy pregnancy

Hi, my name is Megan. On September 28, 2012 I was sent to the hospital because my blood pressure was 210/118 and there was protein in my urine. This was after a week of telling them something was wrong but they kept telling me that all my tests were normal. After a blood test at the hospital I was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. My beautiful baby boy was born one hour later via c-section. Even with the magnesium treatment for 24 hours, my blood pressure only came down to 140ish/95ish and at times was as high as 160/100. Even at that high, they still released me from the hospital (they had me take it a million times and do things like lay on my left side so they could record the lowest reading that they could get...). It took me about 3-4 weeks for my blood pressure to get back to normal, which is like 110/60 for me.

Jump to today. It has been 17 months since my son was born and I hadn't had any issues until yesterday. So yesterday I got up like all other mornings and I just felt off. By the time I got ready and was ready to leave to the house, I was physically shaking and very nervous. We went to lunch and the food made me fell a little bit better, but by the time we made it home, I was dizzy and nervous. My husband finally said, "Go lay down, I will watch the boy." So I went to go lay down and it dawned on me that I felt this way before. This is exactly how I felt leading up to my son's birth when the doctors kept telling me that I was fine. So I reached over to the blood pressure cuff and took my blood pressure and it was 140/85. I didn't believe it so I took it like 10 more times. They were all similar to the first reading. I realized it was my blood pressure. After dinner, I got really cool all of a sudden and I could just tell that my blood pressure was regulating back to normal. I tested it that night and it was 116/65. Much more normal for me. This morning I woke up and felt fine like nothing happened.

So my question is, has anyone had a similar experience to this where their blood pressure was abnormally high for only a day or so after having HELLP? And if so, is this normal? Should I be worried or go to the doctor? I am afraid that now it is back down to normal, that the doctor wouldn't believe me anyway just like they did while I was pregnant. I appreciate any input!